Today we would like to introduce you to the two ladies who run Berlin's unique Scandinavian bookstore "Pankebuch".
Dear ladies, why did you choose to run a bookshop?
I’ve been reading ever since I was a child, and liked sitting down with a book before going to school. Once I was ready to leave school, I had narrowed down my choices to working in a bookshop, or becoming a print compositor or a librarian. After a brief detour into the hotel trade, I had made up my mind. (Petra)
Please describe the final few meters of the route you take in the mornings to your bookshop.
My way to work goes through the Pankower Bürgerpark. It’s more than a hundred years old and was created by an enlightened Mayor who saved the area from having tenements built all over it. I leave the peaceful park through a wonderfully ornate gate and walk only a few steps through in the morning traffic, mostly cyclists criss-crossing in all directions. Then I dive into the bookshop, going via the basement. (Katrin)
I cycle through the allotments in the Berlin district of Prenzlauer Berg to get into Pankow. Walking the last few meters, I meet neighbours and staff from the cafés now and then, or dogs or sometimes flocks of sparrows. Quite often, a black cat called Madame is waiting for me. (Petra)
Throughout the day...
Once inside, I enjoy the smell of paper and the quietness ... I get stuck into office work until 10, and get a thrill from unpacking the new treasures. I’m looking forward to meeting all the people who will come to the shop... (Petra)
When the shop-door opens and someone steps inside ...
We exchange warm greetings, often without actually speaking. And then things get moving... (Katrin & Petra)
What wonderful thing is it that happens when we read?
I notice about myself – and I hear the same from my friends – that reading offers a wonderful chance of getting one’s thoughts together, concentrating. A then you ‘take off’ – the journey begins. (Petra)
Many people say they don’t have the time to read. What can they do about it?
All they can do is to make a conscious decision to read, to make a choice and ignore whatever gets in the way. Or at least ‘make little of it’. (Katrin & Petra)
Has a Norwegian book given you a reading experience that you remember with pleasure?
Oh, yes – I found Jon Fosse‘s The Trilogy especially enjoyable! (Petra)
In my case, it was Linn Ullman’s The Troubled! (Katrin)
Translated from the German by Anna Paterson
Visit the website of Pankebuch here.
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